U.S. Congress (1790-1800) | Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia Library of Congress For ten years, members of both the House of Representatives and Senate met in the same building at the corner of Sixth and Chestnut Streets. The building was constructed in 1787 as one of two buildings earlier planned for the State House Square. Originally designed as the Philadelphia County Courthouse, it was converted in 1790 for the use of the federal congress when Philadelphia became the nation's capital through the Residence Act of 1790. After the federal government moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800, Congress Hall became a county municipal building. This 1848 lithograph by Augustus Kollner shows flag-flying Congress Hall on the corner, with Independence Hall and Old City Hall in the background. Congress Hall was restored to its 1796 appearance through multiple renovations starting in 1913 and continuing through the twentieth century. The National Park Service formally took control of Congress Hall when a law passed by Congress in 1948 created Independence National Historical Park.

Library of Congress Members of the first to sixth Congresses sat in this room on the first floor of Congress Hall during Philadelphia’s decade as capital of the United States. In 1793, Congress Hall was enlarged 27 feet to the south in order to seat the increase of representatives from 65 to 106, based on the federal census of 1790, and to seat additional senators as new states entered the union. When the federal government left Philadelphia in 1800, the interior of Congress Hall became Philadelphia County courtrooms and offices. Twentieth-century preservation groups and the National Park Service returned the first floor to its 1796 appearance, pictured here, in 1975. New York City capital of the US 1789 1790 Philadelphia - PSC - 100 – New York City capital of the US, 1789-1790 Philadelphia – Philadelphia temporary capital 1790-1800 – New capital city on the Potomac River on a site chosen by the President • Madison, southerners Hamilton’s plan • Results This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version.

Plan For The New Capital City, circa 1792 The First Bank Of The United States This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document What’s The Significance Of The New Federal City And Hamilton’s Financial Plan? • Political compromise • Sectional compromise • Shared sacrifice • Economic stability and sound national currency • Building trust and confidence • Building nationalism Washington’s Domestic Challenges Indian War in the “Old Northwest,” 1790-1794 – Little Turtle and the Indian Confederation – 1790 General Harmar – 1791 General St. Clair – 1793 General Wayne – 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers (August) – 1795 Treaty of Greenville – Impact and importance This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document Washington’s Domestic Challenges Presidential Election, 1792 Washington’s Domestic Challenges The Whiskey Rebellion , July – November 1794 • Background: Whiskey Tax enacted, March 1791 • “Whiskey Boys” begin protests • Anti-Whiskey tax protests spread southward • Threat to the new government This preview has intentionally blurred sections.

Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document The Whiskey Rebellion Federal government responds • August 1794: Washington’s proclamation calling for insurgents to go home • September 1794: Washington’s second proclamation ordering the suppression of the insurrection and calling on states to supply troops • Troops from NJ, PA, MD, VA totaling 12,900 • Troops arrest suspects and march them to Philadelphia • Trials in 1795 • Results and importance Washington’s Foreign Policy Challenges Problems with Great Britain – British occupy forts within the US – US wants improved trade with Britain and her colonies in the Caribbean – Southerners want compensation for slaves who fled with British • Jay Treaty, 1794 – British will leave forts by 1796 – British agree to open trade with England but still maintain restrictions on trade with Caribbean and East Indian colonies • Impact and importance This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version.

View Full Document Washington’s Foreign Policy Challenges Problems with Spain • Dispute over the southern and western borders of the US • Indian war in the “Old Southwest”, 1790s • Spain prohibits US use of Mississippi River and port of New Orleans • Pinckney Treaty, 1795 – Western and southern boundaries settled at Mississippi River in the west and 31 st parallel in the south – Use of Mississippi River and right of deposit at New Orleans for 3 years • Impact and importance Washington’s Foreign Policy Challenges Problems with France, 1793-1796 • Political situation in France • France attacks neighboring nations • French hostility with Britain • US announces official policy of neutrality, 1793 • “Citizen” Genet affair, 1793-1794 – Genet arrives in Charleston, SC, 1793 – Commissions US citizens and ships to attack British vessels – Outfits French privateer in US port and orders it out to attack British ships – Begins to organize expeditions to attack Spanish and British territory in North America – His activities and US government – President and cabinet ask for his recall • Aftermath • Importance and impact This preview has intentionally blurred sections.

Sign up to view the full version. Capital of the United States | Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia Library of Congress The Bank of the United States (later called the First Bank of the United States) was created and approved by Congress in 1791 after fierce debate, as a way to help the financial posture of the early government and carry the federal debt. Designed by Samuel Blodgett in a neoclassical style, the Bank of the United States building on Third Street between Chestnut and Market Streets took two years to construct and was completed in 1797. The federal government only chartered the bank for twenty years, and wealthy Philadelphian Stephen Girard purchased the bank building in 1811. Ownership of the building shifted to the City of Philadelphia after Girard's death in 1831, but the bank building remained occupied by Girard Bank until 1929. The National Park Service purchased the building for Independence National Historical Park in 1955 and restored the building's exterior for the Bicentennial celebrations in 1976.

Library of Congress William Birch produced this 1799 engraving of the Pennsylvania State House--later known as Independence Hall--when the building was was part of the complex serving as the Capitol of the United States. The House of Representatives, United States Senate, and Supreme Court all met here. In this rendering, a group of Native Americans who have come to negotiate a treaty is depicted in the foreground. Visit Philadelphia For ten years, members of both the House of Representatives and Senate met in the same building at the corner of Sixth and Chestnut Streets. The building was constructed in 1787 as one of two buildings added to the State House Square. Originally designed as the Philadelphia County Courthouse, it was converted in 1790 for the use of the federal congress when Philadelphia became the nation's capital through the Residence Act of 1790. After the federal government moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800, Congress Hall became a county municipal building. It was restored to its 1796 appearance through multiple renovations starting in 1913 and continuing through the twentieth century. The building became part of Independence National Historical Park, authorized by Congress in 1948.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania At the President's House, located at Sixth and High (now Market) Streets, George Washington and John Adams resided and developed policy while Philadelphia served as the nation's capital, prior to the federal government's move to the District of Columbia. This watercolor by William L. Breton depicts the President's House as it would have looked in the 1790s. Visit Philadelphia The President's House site, shown here soon after its opening in 2010, is located at Sixth and Market Streets in Independence National Historical Park. The open-air exhibit consists of partial walls that suggest the appearance of the structure while George Washington and John Adams resided there. The exhibit interprets the national policies created in the President's House, the narrative of slavery in the United States in the country's early years, and the story of nine slaves who were owned by Washington and who lived within this house during his presidency. (Photograph by G. Widman) Library Of Congress Although Philadelphia had been chosen to be the nation's temporary capital for a decade--after which Washington, D.C., would become capital--some in Pennsylvania hoped to prolong Philadelphia's role as the center of government.

Toward that end, the mansion depicted here was constructed with the intention that it would be the president's home, perhaps helping to sway sentiment if the District of Columbia's development did not unfold as planned. The new house was located at High Street (modern-day Market Street) and Ninth, about four blocks from Congress Hall. Work on the house started in 1792, two years after Philadelphia became the capital, with the expectation that it would be offered as a home to George Washington. But by the time it was completed in 1797 Washington was no longer president. So it was offered to then-president John Adams, who declined, choosing to remain in the house previously occupied by Washington (and today commemorated with the President's House exhibit at Market and Sixth Streets). The image shown here is a hand-colored version of an engraving by William Birch & Son that appeared in the book The City of Philadelphia ...as It Appeared in the Year 1800. The original is in the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. The building was used by the University of Pennsylvania until 1829, when it was demolished. Today the land where the intended president's house had been is occupied by the Robert N. C.

Nix Sr. Federal Building and Post Office, built in 1937. U.S. Senate: 1787: Farewell to New York August 12, 1790 Farewell to New York When Congress convened a special ceremonial session at Federal Hall in New York City on September 6, 2002, to honor the victims and heroes of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, participants were reminded that 212 years had passed since Congress last met in that city. New York had hosted the Congress that operated under the Articles of Confederation from 1785 to 1789. When the new federal government was launched with the 1788 ratification of the U.S. Constitution, New York City continued as the nation's temporary capital. Hoping to convince the new Congress to make their city the permanent seat of government, local business interests contributed funding for a major expansion of the city hall. When Congress convened for the first time on March 4, 1789, the old building had been converted into a splendid capitol, optimistically renamed Federal Hall.

The Senate chamber occupied a richly carpeted forty-by-thirty-foot-long room on the building's second floor. The chamber's most striking features were its high arched ceiling, tall windows curtained in crimson damask, fireplace mantels in handsomely polished marble, and a presiding officer's chair elevated three feet from the floor and placed under a crimson canopy. Noticeably absent from the lavishly ornate chamber was a spectators' gallery—a sign that Senate deliberations were to be closed to the public. The precedent-setting first and second sessions of the First Congress proved highly productive. The second session, which concluded on August 12, 1790, enacted legislation that put the nation on a firm financial foundation, authorized the first census of population, established a government for the western territories south of the Ohio River, and—in the Residence Act of 1790—provided a location for the first permanent seat of government. Under that plan, the government would abandon New York in favor of Philadelphia, which would serve as the temporary capital city for ten years. In 1800, the government would again move, this time to its permanent location in Washington, D.C.

As its final action on August 12, the Senate adopted a resolution thanking New York for its generous hospitality. Soon after Congress departed, Federal Hall again became the local city hall, until it was demolished in 1812. In 1842, the Federal Hall in which the 2002 ceremonial session took place, was erected on part of the original site and is now designated a National Memorial. (Image: Federal Hall) Reference Items: Josephy, Alvin M., Jr. The American Heritage History of the Congress of the United States. New York: American Heritage, 1975. Chapter 2. Senate Historical Office Historic Philadelphia Tour: Old City Hall Next Home of the First Supreme Court, 1791 to 1800. Standing in front of the Liberty Bell you'll see Independence Hall flanked by Old City Hall on the left and Congress Hall on the right. Old City Hall was Philadelphia's second city hall and served as the home of the United States Supreme Court between the years of 1791 and 1800. Philadelphia's First City Hall Philadelphia's original City Hall, built during William Penn's lifetime, was near the Delaware River on 2nd Street.

On the ground floor was a jail. An open-air market spread west for several blocks west along High Street (Market Street today) from City Hall. Upstairs were the mayor's office and the mayor's court. Double stairs led to a balcony on the second floor. Voters handed in their ballots on the balcony. Some times Election Day got pretty wild. There were two unofficial political parties, the Proprietary Party and the Country Party — but the Country Party controlled the stairs to the balcony, so casting a vote for the Propietary Party was no easy feat! This Was Philadelphia's Second City Hall This building, today known as Old City Hall, was completed in 1791. No sooner had it opened than the municipal government moved in. Upstairs was the Mayor's office and the Mayor's Council Chamber. Downstairs was the Mayor's Court. Sharing a Floor From 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia was the Capital of the United States. And from August 1791 to February 1800, the United States Supreme Court held sessions in the courtroom on the first floor of Old City Hall, sharing space with the Mayor's Court.

Early Justices Initially the Supreme Court was composed of a Chief Justice and 5 Associate Justices. Over the Court's first 12 years, it took 12 men to fill those 6 places. The early Supreme Court enjoyed neither the prestige nor the power that it does today. President Washington appointed the finest legal minds in the United States to the Supreme Court, but was plagued by resignations. Some appointees even turned down the "honor" of serving on the court. Among the Court's early members were: John Jay. Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1789-1795. Co-author of the Federalist Papers (written to defend and explain the Constitution before it was adopted). Negotiated the controversial Jay Treaty in England. Elected governor of New York while he was out of the country. Resigned from the Supreme Court to accept that post. Oliver Ellsworth. Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1796-1800. Framer of the Constitution (but not a signer; he went home to attend to business). He resigned as Chief Justice in favor of a diplomatic post. John Marshall. Associate Justice. Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court.

Became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 1801. James Wilson . Associate Justice, 1789-1798. Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution . Other members of the Constitutional Convention said his mind was like "a blaze of light." Died in 1798 while serving on the Supreme Court. John Blair. Associate Justice, 1789-1796. Signer of the Constitution. He did not say one word during the Constitutional Convention. Samuel Chase . Associate Justice, 1796-1811. Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Impeached for partisan activities in 1804, but not convicted. William Paterson. Associate Justice, 1793-1806. Signer of the Constitution. John Rutledge. Associate Justice, Signer of the Constitution, did not attend any session in Philadelphia. Alexander Hamilton. Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. Co-author of the Federalist Papers. Resigned as first Secretary of the Treasury in 1795 to practice law.

No Respect Serving on the early Supreme Court was a strenuous and dangerous duty, due in part to the 1789 Judiciary Act authored by Oliver Ellsworth. This act compelled Supreme Court Justices to ride around the country attending Circuit Courts. Congress divided the 13 United States into 3 circuits and put two Justices in charge of each circuit. Justices often spent their nights in flea-ridden out-of-the-way inns. They spent their days traveling over dirt roads in shaky coaches. Rivers might have been the worst part of traveling. When a Justice came to a river, he would either have to find a fording spot, cross on a ferry, or walk across on ice. Justice Chase once fell through the ice while crossing a river. When a Justice was sick, another Justice had to take over his circuit duties. And sickness was not unusual. James Wilson died of malaria while on circuit duty in North Carolina. John Blair had to resign because a ringing and rattling sound in his ears got louder and louder and he could no longer hear the lawyers. William Cushing was the only Justice who was able to find some relief to his hardships.

He bought a coach that was as close to a camper as the 18th century could provide and talked his wife into sharing his travels. The Supreme Court was supposed to meet in Philadelphia twice a year. However, the four Justices required for an of official session were not always available. Sometimes no session could be held. No one seemed to mind all that much because there were so few important cases. During its first and second years, the Supreme Court heard no cases whatsoever. Over the next 10 years, the Supreme Court averaged seven cases a year. Perhaps the Court's most important early case was one where a group of South Carolina land speculators brought suit against the state of Georgia. The ruling of the Court caused such a public outcry that it resulted in the quick proposal and ratification of the 11th Amendment to the Constitution which effectively nullified the decision of the Court.

The 11th Amendment relates to judicial power of the United States not extended to suits against a State: "The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state." Though the Court didn't even have its own room in Philadelphia, it was at least better than what happened when the government moved to Washington, D.C. There the Justices discovered they had been forgotten and no building had been constructed for them at all! While awaiting their own building, the Congress allowed them to use a room in the basement of the Capitol building! Was Supreme Court of the United States from 1791-1800 Volunteer headquarters in the battle against Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. Immigration center. Thousands of immigrants entered the U.S. through Philadelphia in the last decade of the 18th century. Naturalization ceremonies for new citizens took place in this courtroom.

In the Second Bank portrait gallery, you can see portraits of five of the Supreme Court Justices who served in Old City Hall: John Jay, Oliver Ellsworth, William Cushing, Samuel Chase and Bushrod Washington. Also in the Second Bank, you can see a very large painting of Philadelphia's first City Hall (the one that used to stand on 2nd Street). Location: 5th and Chestnut Streets (Map) Built: 1790-91 Architect: David Evans, master carpenter Style: Georgian The History of York City, the First Capital of the United States of America { Live, work, play in York. } York City History City of York - The First Capital of the United States The City of York, Pennsylvania - named for York, England - was part of the building of our nation, a little-known part of history that many tend to forget, or just don't know. As Yorkers know, their City was the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation and it was here that the words "The United States of America" were first spoken.

That big bombshell out of the way, (and yes, we have proof,) we can begin with York history sometime before 1741, when two surveyors laid out a town on the banks of the Codorus Creek That town would become York. Baltzer Spengler and Ulrich Whisler are given credit for forming the first town west of the Susquehanna River. Both were surveyors with the William Penn family, the family that gave our state its name. In September of 1777 the Continental Congress, under threat of the advancing British, moved the location of the colonies' central government from Philadelphia to Lancaster. Since the State of Pennsylvania's Government was also located in Lancaster, officials decided that a move across the Susquehanna would separate the two sufficiently and the Continental Congress set up shop in the Town of York. It was in York that the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving, and signed the French Treaty of Alliance. All of these events occurred in the nine months York remained Capital of the United States - until June 27, 1778. That is where The City of York made history for the United States, ...

But since then, York has been part of the growth of this nation as well as the growth of its inhabitants. And now, a List of Firsts, from Capital to Christmas Tree Historically, York has been known to find itself out in front By Dave Gulden, York Dispatch/Sunday News, December 28, 1997 York promotes itself as the site of the first capital, and home of the first Thanksgiving proclamation. The First Night Celebration has become a tradition. And as we head toward another first - the first day of 1998 - we can look back on a slew of other firsts from York. Firsts of the 1700s. . . First city When York city was first laid out in 1741 by Thomas Cookson, and the first lots were offered for sale, 23 were promptly purchased in what became the first town west of the Susquehanna River. First church "In September of 1733, the Lutherans took steps for the organization of a congregation, the first one of this denomination west of the Susquehanna," wrote historian George Powell in Gibson's 1886 History of York County.

"In 1744 the first log church was built in York, on the spot where the Christ Church stands." First stone homes IThe Schultz brothers built the first stone homes in York County in 1734. John and Christina built a 2 1/2-story home, believed the first stone home west of the river. It is just east of York, near Stony Brook. Martin Shultz built his stone dwelling in Hellam. "A well authenticated tradition asserts that on the 30th of September 1777 some of the members of the Continental Congress" stopped at the John Schultz House for "rest and refreshment." "The saddles used by those distinguished patriots greatly excited the surrounding populace, who were then unaccustomed to such expensive luxuries," Prowell wrote. First roads In 1739, an old Indian trail from Wrightsville to Maryland and Virginia was called the Monocacy Road. It was the first road laid out in the present limits of York County, according to Gibson. The Quakers of Warrington and Newberry were responsible for the first road from the north into York. On Oct.

10, 1745, 18 residents of Newberry, Manchester, Goldsboro and other northern villages petitioned for "The Newberry Road" that "For a few years it was called the Pennsylvania Republican, which ceased to be issued in 1889 just 100 years after is was founded." Firsts of the 1800s... First hall "About 1812 Peter Wilt (owner of The Golden Lamb tavern on East Market Street) built a hall. It was the first place of public entertainment so far as records go in the town of York. "In 1813 the Durangs who were famous actors came to York and presented two plays to large audiences in Wilt's hall." John Durang, who grew up in York during the Revolution, has been called "a pioneer of the American stage" by author and historian Georg Sheets. First coal In 1818, having heard about "stone coal," Wilt had a half of ton of it unloaded in front of his tavern. "Wilt invited his friends and neighbors into his tavern to see how he would start a fire," Prowell wrote.

Wilt couldn't get the coal to burn, and "his guests, having taken a dram of spirits which cost three cents a glass, pronounced the cannon stove a failure. That year, George S. Morris was the first coal dealer in York. First telegraph The first telegraph line extended from Washington to Baltimore in 1844, and the first message sent was about President James Polk's election. By 1850 the line reached York, "and in September of that year, the first message was received in the York office," Prowell wrote in another early Dispatch story. "Ovid Buckley was the first operator. He had his instrument in a book store opposite the courthouse then owned by himself and Dr. W. S. Poland." First motor In 1853 Joel M. Ettinger of York made a small electric motor and exhibited it at the county fair. First electricity Until 1881, "electricity was for practical purposed was utilized in York by the telegraph only," said The Dispatch.

Betty Peckham wrote for a 1946 Chamber of Commerce book that, "In 1876, Hiram Young, owner of the True Democrat, a local weekly newspaper, visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and brought back with him an incandescent lamp, the latest invention of Thomas Edison." Hooking it up to a battery, Young put the lightbulb in a window of his office, "where it was viewed with great interest." The early account of electricity in York says six Yorkers organized a company and procured a charter from West Virginia to incorporate the York Overland Telephone, Telegraph and Electric Light Co. in the fall of 1882. "A dynamo was installed in the building as 26 N. George St.," according to Peckham's account, "driven by a steam engine normally used to operate a printing press. Two wires were connected to this equipment and run to a flagpole in Center Square where four carbon arc lamps were illuminated." "People came from miles around to witness the first electric illumination in the city of York," wrote Peckham. First telephone During the fall of 1881, writes Prowell, "John K.

Gross, the freight agent of the Northern Central Railway, introduced the telephone into York." The first line extended from Railroad to Shrewsbury. Gross brought the Bell Telephone into York City soon after, the first line "form the residence of Latimer Small, North George Street, to the Codorus mills three miles north of York." First glitzy packaging "The current issue of Profitable Advertising," said The Gazette of Jan. 22, 1889, reports "A distinct novelty in flour bags that is now being used by P. A. & S. Small, proprietors of the Codorus Flour Mill, York, for the purpose of bringing publicity and popularity to their brand of Pearlicross patent winter wheat flour. What made the art unique, says the article, is "the fact that they bear a striking poster design in colors, which is the work of the greater poster artist, Will Bradley, of the University Press, Cambridge." "It is the first time the prosaic flour bag has entered the field of art." Oxygen discovered Dr. George Holtzapple was worried a young pneumonia patient was not getting enough oxygen.

According to York author Betty Peckham, Holtzapple "obtained the materials for making oxygen, chlorate of potash and black oxide of manganese," and some equipment on March 6, 1885. "The doctor rigged up the apparatus and heated the chemicals over the spirit lamp. As the oxygen traveled up the tube into the bucket of water and bubbled to the surface, one of the men present fanned it into the patient's face." The boy recovered. Holtzapple served on the staff of York Hospital for more than 50 years. First entomologists More than 100 years ago the professor of entomology at Harvard University called Hanover's Melsheimers "the fathers of entomology in the United States." Frederick, and his sons John and Ernst, amassed a collection of thousands of insects from all over the world. The elder Melsheimer, born in 1749 in Germany, became pastor of a Luthern Church in Hanover in 1789 and died in 1814.

In 1806 he published Insects of Pennsylvania, which, says Gibson's History, described and classified 1,363 species of beetles, the first work of the kind published in the United States. Dr. Ernst Melsheimer inherited the collection, and the interest of his father and brother. The Entomological Society of Pennsylvania, formed in 1842, chose his as president in 1853. The Melsheimer collection, made up of 15,000 specimens from 5,302 species, was sold for $250 "to the distinguished naturalist Prof. Louis Agassiz," says Gibson's History. "They are now highly prized and are in the museum of Harvard College." First locomotive The first coal burning locomotive was built in York by Phineas Davis in 1832. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had offered a $4,000 prize to anyone who could invent a successful coal burning engine. Up to that time only wood could be used. Davis built his coal-powered steam engine at his foundry on the northwest corner of King and Newberry streets.

It was finished in July, 1832, and taken by wagon to Baltimore (no trains connected the cities until 1838). Soon after winning the contest, Davis was made manager of the B&O shops, and set about building more engines. While testing one of his creations, on Sept. 27, 1835, he died when a wayward rail caused the train to wreck. He was 40. The B&O Railroad and the Engineering Society of York placed a commemorative bronze plaque in Penn Park right across from William Penn School entrance. Almost 100 years after he started his invention, a school was built in his honor in York's east end. And then some... First escalator According to "A Dynamic Community Forges Ahead" published by the Chamber of Commerce in 1956, it was installed in the Bon-Ton in 1956. The building now houses the York County Government Center.

First Olympic winner Philadelphia Reflections: Philadephia: America's Capital, 1774-1800 Philadephia: America's Capital, 1774-1800 The Continental Congress met in Philadelphia from 1774 to 1788. Next, the new republic had its capital here from 1790 to 1800. Thoroughly Quaker Philadelphia was in the center of the founding twenty-five years when, and where, the enduring political institutions of America emerged. DELEGATES from the thirteen original colonies met in Philadelphia in 1774-1776 to seek a way to become full Englishmen instead of mere colonists. Failing that, some were willing to revolt from all British rule, some were not. The Monarchy, however, never retreated from its position that all such questioning of authority was treasonous, so hostilities became inevitable. Although there was agreement to work together under a 1777 draft of the Articles of Confederation, even this preliminary constitution was not finally ratified until 1781, and was in any case mostly a treaty among allied tribes rather than a national charter.

Finally concluding the war in 1783, the colonies struggled for four more years to make this definition of affiliation workable. IT was George Washington who decided in dismay that such looseness was entirely inadequate for maintaining law and order, if Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts was any indicator. That Puritan colony which mostly stirred up the original uproar, gave signs of willingness to live in anarchy indefinitely, even with John Hancock as its governor. Washington reviewed his many frustrations attempting to defend the Confederation during its Revolution, which for him had been an eight-year nightmare of underfunding and irresolute behavior by the state legislatures. What is more, the state Legislatures now outraged creditors by debasing their currencies, offended merchants by arbitrarily dishonoring private contracts. George Washington was a soldier and a farmer, uncertain what a good constitution should say. He only knew he didn't want a King, and he didn't want anarchy. ENLISTING young James Madison as his secret agent, Washington's wide associations during revolutionary days made him aware of widespread dissatisfaction among American leaders about factionalism, economic and monetary deficiencies, and concern that the British might recognize our weakness and reassert control.

For his part, Madison's previous study of the history of earlier republics under Witherspoon at Princeton provided the two Virginians with a reasonably specific outline of what needed to be done, what needed to be avoided. Madison turned out to be an adroit politician, and Washington's personal prestige suppressed other opposition. The Constitutional Convention was composed of the most influential citizens of the colonies because they could not refuse Washington's invitation, while even the few famous resisters like Patrick Henry, were undermined by reluctance to oppose Washington openly. EVEN so, the final 1787 Constitutional proposal was only narrowly ratified. Almost all subsequent critics confess that most of their suggested improvements would almost certainly have defeated the whole project. The capital city was moved from Philadelphia to Washington DC as a result of vote-swapping by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison acting on behalf of Thomas Jefferson in the background. Consequently, it is strikingly difficult to find statues, portraits or historical markers mentioning these three, in Philadelphia two centuries later. JEFFERSON and Madison destroyed the Federalist Party, but the last major Federalist to survive in government was John Marshall, Jefferson's hated cousin, who had once been a devoted aide to Washington at Valley Forge, and later wrote his five-volume biography.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court took advantage of his lifetime appointment to refashion adroitly the position of the Court within three balancing arms of government, and hence established property rights as the unwritten cornerstone of all other rights. Even William Penn could not have done it so cleverly. WHEN Marshall died on July 6, 1835, the nation's capital had been in swampy Washington for 34 years, during none of which had Marshall been on the bench in Philadelphia. But the day of his death marked the end of the spiritual dominance of Philadelphia attitudes in the political life of the Republic, coming shortly before that other signal event, when Andrew Jackson destroyed Biddle's Bank. It is entirely fitting for traditions to record the Liberty Bell was cracked and silenced, while tolling for John Marshall's funeral. America's Best History - U.S. History Timeline 1790s More 1792 February 20, 1792 - The United States Post Office Department is established, signed into law by President George Washington. April 5, 1792 - The presidential veto is used for the first time when President Washington turns down a bill to apportion representation amongst the states.

May 17, 1792 - The beginnings of the New York Stock Exchange is established with the signing of the Buttonwood agreement. October 13, 1792 - The cornerstone for the U.S. Executive Mansion (called the White House since 1818) in the new District of Columbia is laid by freemasons and the commissioners of the district during the construction of the home of the president. It would take eight more years before President John Adams would move into the home. December 3, 1792 - George Washington, a Federalist, is reelected president of the United States with no opposition, with John Adams elected Vice President. The Federalists, who believed in a strong central government, outnumbered the other political party at the time, the Democrat-Republicans, who decided against a political fight due to Washington's popularity. Washington had considered not seeking a second term, but decided to serve again, in some part due to trying to stem the tide of political parties. 1793 February 12, 1793 - The United States Congress passes a federal law requiring the return of slaves that escaped from slave states into free territory or states.

April 22, 1793 - George Washington signs the Proclamation of Neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars, where France has already declared war on England, the Netherlands, Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. August 17, 1793 - Dr. Benjamin Rush confers with two Philadelphia doctors about an epidemic of disease along the docks of Philadelphia over the preceding two weeks. By November, over 10% of the population of the city had succumbed, nearly 5,000 people. The disease had been brought to the city by refugees from Haiti, then coupled with a wet spring and swamps that became an incubator for mosquitos. September 18, 1793 - George Washington lays the cornerstone in the Capitol building, beginning the construction on the design by Dr. William Thornton. December 9, 1793 - The American Minerva, established by Noah Webster, becomes New York City's first daily newspaper. 1794 March 14, 1794 - Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, which could do the work of fifty men when cleaning cotton by hand.

March 27, 1794 - The U.S. Government establishes a permanent navy and commissions six vessels to be built. They would be put into service three years later. August 20, 1794 - General Anthony Wayne, commander of the Ohio-Indiana area, routs a confederacy of Indian tribes, including Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi, at Fallen Timbers on the Maumee River, causing a retreat in disarray. September 1, 1794 - The Whiskey Rebellion occurs when western Pennsylvania farmers in the Monongahela Valley, upset over the liquor tax passed in 1791, are suppressed by 15,000 militia sent by Alexander Hamilton to establish the authority of the federal government to uphold its laws. November 19, 1794 - Jay's Treaty is signed between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Great Britain. This treaty tried to settle some of the lingering troubles stemming from the American Revolution.

1795 January 14, 1795 - The University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, becomes the first operating state university in the United States, and the only public university to graduate students in the 18th century. February 7, 1795 - The United States passes the 11th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the subject of each state's sovereign immunity. August 3, 1795 - General Wayne signs a peace treaty with the Indians at Fort Greenville, Ohio, ending the hostilities in what was then known as the Northwest Territories after the Indian confederation's defeat (the treaty included the above mentioned tribes, as well as the Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskias) at Fallen Timbers the year before. October 27, 1795 - The Treaty of Madrid is signed, establishing the boundaries between the Spanish Colonies and the United States. November 28, 1795 - The United States purchases peace with Tunis and Algiers by supplying a frigate and over $800,000.

1796 June 1, 1796- Tennessee is admitted into the Union as the 16th state. July 11, 1796 - Possession of the city of Detroit by the United States is taken by terms of the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. September 19, 1796 - President George Washington gives his final address as president, published in the American Daily Advertiser, urging strong warnings against permanent foreign alliances, large public debt, and a large military establishment. November 4 to December 7, 1796 - The U.S. Electoral College meets to elect Federalist John Adams as president. John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson, of the Democrat Republican party, whose platform included the notion of a weak central government, in the U.S. presidential election. Political parties came into prominence with this election after the retirement of George Washington. Electors who chose the president were chosen by the states, using various methods, including the popular vote or by state legislators. Adams received 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68.

1797 January 3, 1797 - The Treaty of Tripoli, signifying peace between the United States and Tripoli, is signed at Algiers. March 4, 1797 - John Adams succeeds George Washington as president of the United States. July 10, 1797 - The first of three ships, the U.S. frigate United States, is launched by the United States on this day as it begins to build up its navy. Later in 1797, the other two ships would be launched; the Constellation in Baltimore on September 7; and the Constitution (old Ironsides) in Boston, September 20. October 21, 1797 - The Constitution, a 44 gun frigate, is sent into service from Boston Harbor against Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli. December 17, 1797 - Joseph Henry, an American scientist is born. He would serve as the first president of the Smithsonian Institution and is credited with discoveries in the field of electro magnets.

1798 May 4, 1798 - Thomas Jefferson, then Vice President of the United States, informs the American Philosophical Society of his invention of a new mould board for a plow. April 7, 1798 - The Territory of Mississippi is established from parts of Georgia and South Carolina, and later expanded to include disputed territory of the United States and Spain. German-American Gottlieb Graupner settles in Boston and becomes the father of orchestral music in the United States. He would later organize the Philharmonic Society. July 7, 1798 - Congress voids all treaties with France due to French raids on U.S. ships and a rejection of its diplomats, and orders the Navy to capture French armed ships. Eight-four French ships are captured by the U.S. Navy (with 45 ships) and private ships (365). July 14, 1798 - The Alien and Sedition Acts making it a federal crime to publish malicious statements about the United States Government go into law. 1799 February 9, 1799 - The French warship L'Insurgente is captured by the U.S.S. Constellation.

Napoleon stops the French raids after becoming First Consul. February 15, 1799 - The first printed ballots in the United States are printed in Pennsylvania. March 29, 1799 - A law is passed to abolish slavery in the state of New York, effective twenty-eight years later, in 1827. The American System of Manufacturing is invented by Eli Whitney, who uses semi-skilled labor, machine tools, and jigs to make standardized, interchangeable parts, then an assembly line of labor. Whitney first used the system to manufacture 10,000 muskets for the U.S. Government. December 14, 1799 - George Washington, the 1st commander of the Revolution and President of the United States, passes at his estate in Virginia.

Question: Which city was the capital of the USA from 1790 to 1800?
Answer: PHILADELPHIA